Flint Repertory Theatre returns to the stage Oct. 8 with Beckett absurdist comedy
By Patsy Isenberg After eighteen months of no live theatre indoors in Flint, the Flint Repertory Theatre (The Rep) begins its 2021-2022 season with a production of the absurdist comedy “Happy Days.” The play opens with an 8 p.m. Oct. 8 performance, with a run of eight...
MDOT earmarks $300 million to rebuild I-475 through Flint – Public comments invited for next 12 months
By Tom Travis The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has announced it will invest $300 million to rebuild I-475 from Bristol Road to Carpenter Road, estimating the work will begin in the Fall of 2023. The proposed project is an eight-mile span of road and...
Memories of Jack Minore, Michigan, Flint, and East Village
By Paul Rozycki There have been many official obituaries, tributes, and memorials written about Jack Minore, the offices he held, the causes he championed, and the commitment he had to the state of Michigan and the Flint community. Most political leaders in the area...
Max Brandon Park site of this week’s mobile vaccination unit visits: free lunch, shots offered Thursday and Saturday
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods again this week, with free lunch and COVID-19 vaccines available at Max Brandon Park noon to 3 p.m. Thursday. Sept. 23 and Friday, Sept....
City council in a 5-4 vote drops a proposal allowing McLaren Hospital to reduce their Water Crisis Settlement amount from $20 million to $5 million
By Tom Travis Grappling with the most recent development in the Flint Water Crisis Settlement the City Council had a heated discussion for over two hours of their nearly nine hour meeting on Monday. The discussion centered around a resolution to amend the Flint Water...
Education Beat: Uncertain leadership, uncertain infrastructure challenges roil Flint Community Schools board
By Harold C. Ford Flint schools superintendent Anita Steward files lawsuit against board of education Kevelin Jones appointed interim superintendent Two board of education members abruptly resign Doyle-Ryder building closed due to presence of black mold; $440,000 roof...
Mobile Vaccination Units continue through summer in greater Flint area – water and free meals included
By Tom Travis A new community collaboration is bringing Covid vaccines, water, meals and other resources to Flint neighborhoods. The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) has created a partnership with Genesee Community Health Center (GCHC), the Genesee County...
The East Village Magazine – September 2021
The latest edition of The East Village Magazine is available for download here: [pdfjs-viewer url="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eastvillagemagazine.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2FEVM_Sept_2021_web.pdf" viewer_width=100% viewer_height=800px fullscreen=true download=true...
Commentary: Flint loses 20,000 residents. What does it mean for the city?
By Paul Rozycki With the current census, the city of Flint has lost Grand Blanc, Davison, Swartz Creek, and Montrose. I don’t mean that those places are gone. They are still here in Genesee County and doing fine. But the City of Flint has lost enough population to...
“This is a message from the residents of the City of Flint” – Activists deliver two petitions to the City Clerk
By Tom Travis A group of seven Flint residents gathered in front of City Hall on Tuesday to announce they had collected more than 1,000 signatures on two separate petitions. The group was led by activist and Flint water warrior, Claire McClinton, who said she was...
Education Beat: Flint Schools leadership besieged by aging infrastructure in buildings averaging 70 years old
By Harold C. Ford Students in Flint Community Schools (FCS) will miss six days of school in the just-started 2021-22 school year due to the heat. FCS ordered schools closed the entire week of Aug .23-26; an instruction day had not been scheduled for Friday, Aug. 27....
Sports Beat: Team Handball Emerging at Flint’s Berston Field House
By Harold C. Ford “This sport is so cool. There’s gotta be a way that America can get good at this sport.” —Mike Tirico, NBC’s anchor for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, commenting on team handball The venerable Berston Field House — the nearly 100-year-old facility on...
“When your hometown calls, you go” – Robert Widigan, City of Flint’s newest Chief Financial Officer
By Tom Travis Robert Widigan, 31, has joined the City of Flint's finance department as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Widigan is a Flint native and attended Mott Community College and transferred to the University of Michigan - Flint graduating in 2014 with a...
Education Beat: Two central administrators charge Flint Ed Board Treasurer Laura MacIntyre with “hostile work environment”
By Harold C. Ford Two central administrators of the Flint Community Schools (FCS) — Superintendent Anita Steward and Ayunna Dompreh, FCS executive director of finance — have both charged Laura MacIntyre, FCS board treasurer, with creating a “hostile work...
Education Beat: Hot Buildings Keep Flint Students at Home
By Harold C. Ford For the second time in the just-started 2021-22 school year, Flint Community Schools (FCS) closed its doors to students due to the heat. This time it was by order of the FCS Board of Education. By a vote of 5-0, the Flint board closed its schools...
After $2 million renovation, Greater Flint Health Coalition moves into donated downtown building
By Tom Travis The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) celebrated its newly renovated three-story headquarters in downtown Flint Monday with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The 12,000 sq. ft. facility is next to the northern end of Buckham Alley at 120 W. First St. At a...
Mobile COVID vaccination units available Thursday, Aug. 19 and 26 on Flint’s south side
Mobile COVID vaccination units will be in the Burton area and the surrounding neighborhoods of Hemphill Road and Saginaw Street on Thursday, Aug. 19 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The vaccination units also will be in the surrounding neighborhoods of Atherton Road and Dort...
Book Review: Connor Coyne’s mighty opus compels in URBANTASM: Book Three — The Darkest Road
By Robert Thomas Urbantasm is categorized as a magical teen noir serial novel composed of four books. The Darkest Road is Book Three of the series created by Flint writer Connor Coyne. But it is much more than a teen novel. It is a massive creation from Coyne's...
Mobile COVID vaccination units available Saturday, Aug. 14 on Flint’s south side
Mobile COVID vaccination units sponsored by The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) in partnership with Genesee Community Health Center, Genesee County Community Action Resource Department (G.C.C.A.R.D.), and the United Way of Genesee County will be in the Lincoln...
Genesee County at 52.5 percent COVID vaccination rate; Flint ranks among the lowest in state at below 35
By Tom Travis Shatarian Aliger, 35, an entrepreneur/fashion designer, said she overcame her COVID vaccination hesitancy out of concern for her family. Thursday, she got her second Moderna shot in the Flint Township office of Dr. Bobby Mukkamala. She had received her...
Public opposition growing against proposed Ajax asphalt plant in northeast Flint
By Harold C. Ford “It literally stinks.” – Father Phil Schmitter, St. Francis Prayer Center, Aug. 11, 2021 Public opposition to a proposed asphalt plant on the northeast side of Flint was launched by a coalition of groups and individuals opposed to its construction at...
In a bi-weekly crime update the Mayor announces that all city parks will close at 9 p.m. in an effort to reduce crime
By Tom Travis In the wake of three homicides in Flint over the weekend, Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced at press conference Monday that he is launching bi-weekly updates on the state of crime in the city. Neeley also announced that all city parks will now close at 9...
Infrastructure work, environmental justice “can’t wait another generation,” Kildee and activist panel agree
By Jan Worth-Nelson As the U.S. Senate was voting to approve the American Jobs Plan 69-30 Tuesday morning, with 19 Republicans joining all Democrats, a group of Genesee County activists from environmental justice, health care, and education spoke out forcefully to...
Education Beat: Flint Summer Enrichment Programs conclude as students return to school buildings and balanced calendar
By Harold C. Ford Students enrolled in Flint Community Schools (FCS) returned to school Aug. 4 for a third consecutive year under a "balanced calendar" that was adopted by FCS at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. A balanced calendar features an earlier start to...
With eight percent turnout for Flint city council primary, most incumbents advance to the general election
By Paul Rozycki As voters turned out in surprisingly low numbers for Tuesday’s city council primary, a number of new faces emerged to challenge incumbents in City Hall. Yet, with about eight percent of the voters casting ballots, only one incumbent found himself in...
